Featured image: UT Martin sophomore Cooper Stone tracks a calf in the calf roping event at the 58th annual UT Martin Spring College Rodeo on Saturday, April 11, 2026. (Pacer Photo/Chyler Lee)
Two Skyhawks finished on top at the 58th annual University of Tennessee at Martin Spring College Rodeo on April 11 in a packed house at the Ned McWherter Agricultural Complex.
The Skyhawk men placed second overall with 485 points with sophomore Cooper Stone (21.8) leading the way with a first-place finish in calf roping and a fourth-place finish in team roping. The women placed fifth overall with 80 points on the weekend led by senior barrel racer Allie Maxwell. Maxwell posted a dominant performance in barrel racing throughout the weekend as she finished first in the opening go (13.41), the short round (13.55) and field average (26.69). It was a performance Maxwell said felt “absolutely unreal.”
“It’s just—I can’t even put words to it,” said Maxwell. “It’s an absolute dream come true to do this in front of my home crowd, my senior year. It really just all fell into place all at the right time.”
It is hard to beat the atmosphere of the UT Martin rodeo along with a packed crowd, the talents of pro rodeo clown Dusty Myers and the enthusiastic voice of announcer Garrett Yerigan. The crowd roared to life with every event and the Skyhawk men and women did not disappoint.
Just behind Stone was junior Owen Larrick (22.4) and graduate student Clint Southworth (22.8) who finished second and third respectively in average. Larrick also placed first in the short round with a time of 11.4 seconds. Freshman steer wrestler Daniel Wilder put points on the board with a fifth-place finish in the average (11.7) and a third-place performance in the short round (4.5). A Skyhawk duo of Tate Ondrik and Colton Whittymore placed fifth in calf roping with a time of 9.4.
For the women, junior Anna Wilder finished with a second-place finish in the second go (13.62) and fourth place finish overall.
This year’s rodeo doubled the participation of last year with around 400 student athletes who paid to participate, according to UT Martin Athletics director Kurt McGuffin.
The rodeo at UT Martin is a staple of the season, and McGuffin acknowledged the work it takes to continue that standard.
“It takes a lot of hard work from a lot of people, but it’s always good to have this many people come to Martin. It’s been a busy weekend, but our rodeo kids work hard all year and then we get to showcase it here,” McGuffin said. “Usually, it’s voted the best college rodeo east of the Mississippi and that’s what we want to continue to have here.”
The success is all credited to fifth-year head coach Chase Thrasher, who, as a former UT Martin Rodeo student-athlete himself, has continued the success and history of the program.
“He took over for a legend and that’s hard to do being so young,” McGuffin said. “So, I’m really proud of what he’s accomplished here.”
The squad’s next stop is Arkansas Tech in Searcy, Arkansas, where they will compete from Thursday, April 16 to Saturday, April 18.
